Akelli Movie REVIEW: Nushrratt Bharuccha delivers a stellar performance in this scary and gut-wrenching thriller

Film:
Akelli

Director: Pranay Meshram

Star performance: Nushrratt Bharuccha, Tsahi Halevi, Amir Boutrous & Nishant Dahiya

Platform: Theatre

Akelli movie review

Before beginning my Akelli review, I did a little study on the ongoing war between Iraq and Syria. The war shook the entire world and the disturbing pictures and visuals even made it to the Internet. It is unimaginable for me to be in a war-like situation. When I know there’s a war going on, and I’m not free in my own country, it just sends chills down my spine.

I can’t imagine what people must be going through or have gone through when the country is at war. With this, the civilians suffer the most, especially women. While men get killed instantly, women are sold off or brutally killed during such situations. It’s unthinkable. Well, this time I watched Akelli movie and this made me think that we are privileged to be in a better situation right now.

Nushratt Bharruccha starrer Akelli is based on true events and is inspired by the story of a Middle Eastern woman. The movie captures the horrific scenario of Iraq during an ongoing war with Syrians. It does not explain the war neither it goes deep into the subject. It is about a woman and how she manages to rescue from that horrifying nightmare.

Story:

Set in 2013, a woman named Jyoti Arora from Punjab had to step out of the country to earn for her family. Unable to find a suitable job in India, she gets an opportunity in Mosul, Iraq. Thinking the current situation has improved, she accepts the new job and heads for Iraq. She becomes the supervisor in a clothing factory and leads a decent life. But little did she know that her visit to Iraq will be a nightmare for her. As she reaches the country and manages to settle in, she faced hell when the people of the Assad government captivated the people of the factory. Once they are brought to a different place where Jyoti faces challenges. How will she survive? Will she go back home to India?

Akelli movie poster

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Image source: Nushrratt Bharuccha Instagram

Highlights of Akelli:

Direction: Pranay Meshram, the director who made his directorial debut with this movie has done a great job. Since the movie is about that one woman, he ensured to cover all the aspects that she faced during her stay in Iraq. He knew his story well and hence, his direction was quite crisp and to the point. Yes, there were some fillers but the main plot of the movie was getting conveyed.

Pace: The other highlight of the movie is the runtime and the pace of the film. Everything is so engaging that keeps you glued to the screen but has some flaws.

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Drawbacks of Akelli:

Storyline: Considering that it is based on true events, somewhere I felt certain things were fictionalised. For instance, the director added a romantic angle in this part and I wonder if that was necessary for a film like this. It could have easily been avoided. Even though it got a little predictable, the story is not thrilling but gritty. I feel the script was quite engaging somewhere the makers lacked execution in some parts.

VFX: They used a small amount of VFX in the movie and it was so glitchy and patchy.

Climax: The ending seems quite cold and absurd. From her survival to the intervention of the government, certain things were off-putting. It doesn’t look logical especially when it is based on true events.

Character background: When I’m talking about the character, it was Rafeeq’s character that baffled me. I don’t want to tell the scene as it will give away an important detail here. Rafeeq’s character has a major role in the first half but there’s a scene in the second half that will make you question his appearance. It will make you wonder how come he came here and how did all this happen. There was no explanation for that and hence, it felt odd.

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Star performances:

Nushrratt Bharuccha is the heart of the movie. After the disaster Chhatrapati, she seems to have rectified her mistake to chose that script and she shined in this movie. Not sure if I can say she delivered her career-best performance in Akelli but she did a fantastic job. With her vulnerability, her courage to her bravery, Nushrratt leaves an impact with her hard-hitting performance. She carried this film with utmost fervour.

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Tsahi Halevi plays the antagonist Assad in the movie. He delivers a decent performance but nothing impactful. I didn’t get the villainous vibes from him but someone who is egoistic and a pervert. Tsahi also had limited screen time and will probably only shine when he gets a meaty role.

Nishant Dahiya plays Rafeeq in the movie who is seen in a cameo role. His character has no significant role in the first half but proves himself worthy in the second half. He is actually a good actor and proves his acting prowess in this movie as well.

Conclusion:

Concluding my review, Nushratt Bharruccha shines in Akelli and quite literally carries the film with utmost glory. Whereas Akelli is a gut-wrenching and hard-hitting story that is scary and horrifying. The movie has its own share of flaws but it tries to deliver an impactful movie that is gripping and gritty.

Watch the Akelli trailer after the movie review

Also read: Guns & Gulaabs REVIEW: Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salmaan starrer makes you nostalgic about the 90s crime era but has its flaws